Good Boy (2025) 굿보이
Directed by Shim Na-yeon, starring Park Bo-gum as Yoon Dong-ju, Kim So-hyun as Ji Han-na, Oh Jung-se as Min Ju-yeong, Lee Sang-yi as Kim Jong-hyeon, Heo Sung-tae as Ko Man-sik, and Tae Won-seok as Shin Jae-hong.
Watched 3 June - 21 July 2025 — 16 episodes (KISSKH)
After 11 years, the police revive their special recruitment for former national athletes. Once hailed as heroes, these world-class medalists now face harsh realities. Despite financial struggles, unexpected tragedies, and discrimination within the force, the athletes, each with their own story, reunite as a special task force to take on major crimes with the grit and skills they honed as athletes. (Synopsis: Letterboxd)
*I finished this action-packed show yesterday, having watched it while it was being aired (two episodes a week on Saturdays and Sundays, final episode last Sunday the 20th). Initially I was very enthusiastic (it starts well, with a great first episode introducing our main characters as part of the police force), but in the end the show didn't totally deliver and I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I like how the lead characters are all medalists and how their fighting abilities are perfected by their athletic skills (boxing, sharpshooting, fencing, discus throwing, wrestling).
*What I loved foremost: Park Bo-gum. Not so much his character Yoon Dong-ju who mostly frustrated me but the actor himself. He gives a great and convincing performance. Oh ... that lovable smile! I love him in his serious and emotional moments and he's very good in conveying his feelings of hurt and anger. I also love watching him eat and stuff himself with food. But his character, seriously! Yoon Dong-ju gets a bit one-note, just wants to catch the main villain, and every time it's without a plan. He's very driven by his emotions, hot-tempered, and though I understand where his anger and wish for revenge is coming from, I'd wished he would act less on impulse and think things through first. Also the way he's dealing with his injuries .... He gets in numerous violent fights, often just goes off on his own, gets his head smashed in a thousand times, at one point he jumps out of a moving truck, gets hit by a car and gets stabbed, but then he's fine again. The cycle repeats itself: he's badly injured, and when you think he's temporarily out of circulation, confined to bed, he pops some painkillers and joins the fight again. He acts as if he's invincible because the writers made him that way. His battered and bruised face also heals very quickly, like ... overnight. So unbelievable! I've seen this before, of course, in K-dramas, but this show is really taking it to the max and we just have to accept the absurdity of it all. I love how Dong-ju's team mates worry about him so I didn't like how he was ignoring their worries and wasn't heeding his health (which was plain stupid). He was almost blind but then his serious medical condition also suddenly and conveniently disappeared.
*I liked the special task force headed by Heo Sung-tae as Ko Man-sik: the team dynamics, how they worked together, even with the regional team (glad the main detective of the other team was on their side and not corrupt, and cooperated with them). I would have liked to see more of the team work (instead of Dong-ju running off on his own all the time), and would have loved to know more about the backstories of the team members.
*I loved the bromances: between Dong-ju and team leader Ko Man-sik, how Man-sik supported Dong-ju in episode 7 after Dong-ju got the team and himself into trouble after having beaten up the villain. And I love the playful rivalry/bromance between Dong-ju and Kim Jong-hyeon, the fencer, both trying to impress the female lead Ji Han-na. Kim Jong-hyeon really takes good care of Yoon Dong-ju and treats him with kindness, despite his own romantic feelings for Ji Han-na. Really love Kim Jong-hyeon, he's a smarter character than Dong-ju. Love how he fights, and his looks with the glasses. And how he accepted his defeat (losing Han-na to Dong-ju) was admirable.
*I'm a romantic at heart and was happy when I found out there was going to be a romance, but honestly, I liked the bromance better and Dong-ju and Jong-hyeon have better chemistry than Dong-ju has with Han-na. I never saw the actress Kim So-hyun before, and she's okay, but she also left me a bit indifferent. It's not a strong romance subplot, and it petered out a bit, but I did like how Han-na supports Dong-ju and they also share some nice moments.
*There's just one smuggle case with drugs involved, with one main villain, Oh Jung-se as Min Ju-yeong. Oh Jung-se does a terrific job portraying the villain, he's very believable, and I like how emotionless he is, calculated and always calm. I did lose interest a bit with the case because it became too repetitive. In the end I was just waiting for the villain to be caught and brought to justice.
*I didn't care about the other gang criminals but I liked how Lee Ho-jung as the bad girl aka Drug Monster and Go Joon as Leo (Korean-Russian mafia boss) eventually help the team and how they briefly became a love couple.
*Han-na went by herself into the lion's den in episode 13, and I read a recap first to kill the suspense. I know she's a sharpshooter but seeing her act like she's Rambo, totally fearless, had me dispend my disbelief a bit.
*When the show finally came to an end, I was so ready for it. The plot with catching Min Ju-yeong had been drawn out. 16 episodes was just too much, 12 would have been better. I was tired of the fights. It was nice to see the 5 team members using their sport skills in the final episode.
*Despite the show's flaws, I really cared about the team and did root for them and I did like all team members individually as well. The team leader Ko Man-sik provided the comic relief but his character became a bit over the top in the end. I'm just happy no one died and Yoon Dong-ju found happiness with Ji Han-na and his new-found mother.
*Cool and fitting OST!